Water- and weatherproofing construction of casings for binoculars



Nov. 30, 1948. P H. CASE 2,454,359

WATER AND WEATH ERPROOFING CONSTRUCTION OF CASINGS FOR BINOCULARS Filed Oct. 25, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I m m w INVENTOR. 5 W 4 4,

B Q A Q, v. If I v Nov. 30, 1948. S 2,454,859

WATER AND- WEATHERPROOFING CONSTRUCTION OF CASINGS FOR BINOCULARS Filed Oct. 25,.1944 2 Shets-Sheet 2 v INVENTOR. MN GAL,

Patented Nov. 30, 1948 WATER- AND WEATHERPROOFING CON- STRUCTiON 0F CASINGS FOR BINOCU- LABS Percival H. Case, New York, N. Y., assignor to Universal Camera Corporation, N. Y., a corporation of New York New York,

Application October 25, 1944, Serial No. 560,281

3 Claims. 1

This invention generally relates to binoculars, and is more particularly directed to the provision of a novel water and weatherproof construction oi the casings for mounting the optical elements .of such instruments.

Binoculars, particularly those embodying prismatic optical systems, usually comprise a pair of casings hingedly interconnected for relative movement to permit interpupillary adjustment,

each casing consisting of a body mounting objective lenses at one end thereof and open at its other end to permit the insertion of prismatic optical elements. A cover carrying an eyepiece is secured. to the open end of the body to close the casing and complete the structure. It is essential that a hermetic seal be provided between the :meeting portions .of the body and cover of each casing. In order to positively prevent any infiltration of water or moisture within the casing that would impair the operation of the optical elements mounted therein and shorten the life of the instrument, and, as is well known to those skilled in the art, the provision of such a hermetic seal, capable of lasting throughout the life of the binoculars and effective in various conditions of use, constitutes a serious problem in the construction of binoculars and like optical instruments.

It is the primary object of the invention to provide a novel construction of portions of the body and cover forming a binocular casing, whereby a hermetic seal of the assembled elements may be readily obtained and maintained during use of the instrument and this latter therefore rendered positively water and Weatherproof.

Another object of the invention is to provide a structure whereby a hermetic seal may be obtained in a casing comprising a body and cover produced in the usual manner, without necessity of subjecting surfaces thereof to machining or other operations that would increase the cost of production of the instrument.

It is also an object of the invention to provide binocular casings comprising a body and a cover having peripheral portions associated in such a manner as to define a tortuous join-tune effective to positively block penetration of water and moisture into the casing.

The invention further contemplates the use of an element arranged between opposed surfaces of the body and cover of the casing and adapted to conform under pressure to said surfaces to provide an uninterrupted contact area and form a seal with-in the casing.

These and other objects will become apparent in the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings. It is, however, to be under-stood that the invention may equally Well be applied to casings having a conformation different from that shown or wherein the cover may be used for mounting optical elements other than eyepiece lenses.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of a binocular embodying casings accordin to the invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary enlarged elevational view, partly in section, of one of the binocular casings illustrating the construction ofthe body and cover of the casing and the manner in which the sealing of the structure is obtained.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the gasket forming part of the sealing means.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged bottom plan view of the casing cover.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary vertical section through the cover on line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a similar fragmentary Vertical section of the cover, on line 6'6 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged top plan view of the casing body.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary vertical section through the casing body, on line 88 of Fig. '7.

Fig. 9 is a similar vertical section, on line 99 of Fig. '7.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, it will be seen that the binocular, generally indicated by the numeral Hi, comprises a pair of casings l land l2, hingedly interconnected in suitable manner as at M, to permit interpupillary adjustment. Each of the casings H and i2 comprises a. body l5 carrying objective lenses at the end it thereof as in conventional instruments, and open at its other end H. A cover [8 adapted to support the usual eyepiece is mounted on said open end ll of the casing body, in th manner to be later described.

Each of the casing bodies l5, preferably made of aluminum casting or like material, is formed with a fiat terminal face 20 at the open end I! thereof, and is provided with a peripheral flange 2| projecting from the outer surface of the body in spaced relation to said terminal flat face 28 (see particularly Figs. 8 and 9). Inwardly extending portions 22 of said terminal face have threaded holes 23 adapted to receive screws 24 passing through the cover l8, and a groove 25 is provided along the outer periphery of the body 15 adjacent the flange 2|, for the purpose that will hereafter become apparent,

The cover l8 consists of a plate having an upstanding tubular member 26, which carries the eyepiece 21 mounted therein in any suitable manner and is provided, at its lower end, with a portion 28 of larger diameter. A rib 29, projecting upwardly from the terminal face of the casing body I5, is received within said enlarged portion 28 and engages the periphery thereof when the cover is assembled with the casing body, to prevent lateral displacement of the tubular member 26 and maintain the eyepiece 21 in predetermined alined position in the instrument (see Figs. 2, 5, 8 and 9). The cover 18 is formed with a rim 39 which has an inner contour identical to the outer contour of the portion of the body 15 comprised between the flange 2! and the terminal face 29 and surroundingly engages said portion. A flat end face 3! adapted to abuttingly engage the upper face of the flange 2| of the body I5 is provided at the end of the rim, the length of the rim being such that, when the cover is mounted on the body 15, the inner face of the cover will be slightly spaced from the terminal face 29 of the body end.

As will be observed particularly from Figs. 4 and 6, the inner face of the cover is formed with a slightly raised surface 32 contoured to register with the terminal face 29 of the body I5.

Theend of the rim 28 is chamfered, as shown at 33, in correspondence to the aforesaid peripheral groove of the body I5, and forms with this latter a channel which may be filled with suitable cement or like sealing material as indicated at 34 in Fig. 2. Countersunk holes 35 are provided in the cover for the passage of the screws 24.

A suitably shaped gasket 36, preferably made of a substantially resilient material such as molded rubber or the like, is applied to the terminal face 29 of the body, between this latter and the aforementioned raised surface 32 of the cover it, and pressed therebetween when the cover is assembled with the body and brought to its ultimate position by the tightening of the screws 24, so that the gasket is caused to conform to the surfaces acting thereon thereby providing a hermetic jointure in a zone extending along the entire periphery of the casing body, inwardly of the cover rim.

As will be apparent from the foregoing, the

body and the cover of the casing are associated in such a manner as to provide a plurality of contact zones between portions thereof in different planes defining a tortuous jointure, and such a jointure is provided with seals at two different points; penetration of water or moisture is therefore positively prevented and the casing is rendered entirely weatherproof.

It will be understood that changes and modifications may be made in the structure described and illustrated in the drawings without departing from the spirit of the invention or exceeding the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. In a binocular, a casing comprising a body having one open end of irregular outer contour formed with a flat terminal face, a flange extending outwardly from the periphery of said body in spaced relation to said terminal face thereof, an ocular-carrying cover for said body comprising a plate mounted in juxtaposition to the terminal face of the body end and having a rim in end abutting engagement with said flange and in surrounding engagement with the outer surface of the body end, means for providing a seal inwardly of the cover rim comprising a gasket disposed between the terminal face of the body end and the opposed inner face of the juxtaposed cover plate, and means for providing a seal between the cover rim and the body end adjacent the flange inwardly of the abutting portions of said rim and flange.

2. In a binocular, a casing comprising a body having one open end formed with a flat terminal face, a flange extending outwardly from the periphery of said body in spaced relation to said terminal face thereof, an ocular-carrying cover for said body comprising a plate mounted in juxtaposition to the terminal face of the body and having a rim in end abutting engagement with said flange and in surrounding engagement with the outer surface of the body end, the inner face of the cover plate being formed with a raised flat surface overlying the terminal face of the body end, a gasket pressed between said raised surfaces of the cover plate and the terminal face of the body end to provide a seal therebetween and means for providing a seal between the cover rim and the body end adjacent the flange inwardly of the abutting portions of said rim and flange.

3. In a binocular, a casing comprising a body having one open end formed with a flat terminal face, a flange extending outwardly from the periphery of said body in spaced relation to said terminal face thereof, an ocular-carrying cover for said body comprising a plate mounted in juxtaposition to the terminal face of the body and having a rim in end abutting engagement with said flange and in surrounding engagement with the outer surface of the body end, the inner face of the cover plate being formed with a raised surface overlying the terminal face of the body end, a gasket pressed between said raised surface of the cover plate and the terminal face of the body end to provide a seal therebetween, a groove extending along the periphery of the body end adjacent the flange thereof, and a chamfer at the inner edge of the cover rim registering with said groove to form a channel adapted to receive sealing material to provide a seal at the jointure of the cover rim with the body.

PERCIVAL H. CASE.

REFERENCES GITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

' UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 674,465 Hensoldt May 21, 1901 Re. 12,551 Maranville Nov. 6, 1906 983,423 Breelle Feb. 7, 1911 1,270,876 Saegmuller et a1 July 2, 1918 1,389,542 Wereley Aug. 30, 1921 2,267,711 Bailey Dec. 30, 1941 2,339,702 Isele Jan. 18, 1944 2,364,811 Perkins Dec. 12, 1944 2,389,252 Gullasch Nov. 20, 1945 2,409,364 Kurtz et al Oct. 15, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country I Date 292,470 Great Britain Oct. 12, 1929 431,692 Great Britain July 12, 1935 

